J Black's Blog – July 2008 Archive (6)

was moved after watching Diane Sawyer's last coverage of Randy Pausch. As I get ready to start the new academic year, I continue to mull over his words about brick walls and obstacles that loom in our way. They are words worth sharing with our students - not once, but weekly. Read More

I really don't know much about 3-D worlds, virtual reality, and such, but I'm taking my plunge. About three weeks ago I received an email invitation reading,

"On August 4th, 2008, and again on August 6th, Alliance Library System, in cooperation with LearningTimes, will offer a one-day conference exploring the possibilities of using virtual worlds to teach literature and to promote its appreciation for people of all ages. The conference, entitled "Stepping into Literature: Bringing New Life… Continue

I've had to learn to make web pages the hard way -- first by hand coding HTML, then later by learning the nuances of several HTML editors. Several other teachers have asked me how to go about creating one and, until now, I'd have to sigh and say, "well first you have to learn a program like DreamWeaver or FrontPage, and then you have to have a server or rent space on a server to put your website on". That's a big learning curve for someone who just wants to post daily assignments or keep a list… Continue

Sometimes ya just gotta take a break. Technically, I can’t say May was a break, though I failed to get anything up on my blog. But all teachers know that May is absolutely crazy, and so no more needs to be said. June, however, has been my respite, and it’s felt good to just step back for a while and rest. Read More.

Everybody probably goes about becoming a blogger and becoming a teacher of blogging a bit differently. For me, here's how it went. Read More

I've been wanting to get this done for some time now and am chipping away at my goal. I am attempting to make a series of online movies that can be used by both educators and students who are new to blogging. Watch for new tutorials over the next few weeks. Enjoy -- I hope they are helpful to anyone just starting out. Read More